I don’t think I like the idea of this at all. I think most of us are already too far removed from the source of our food. I like knowing my burger came from a cow and my bacon from a pig. This just sounds too much like something from a Kurt Vonnegut short story.

In a recent email my father observed that I haven’t updated the site in a while. He has also become the external voice to echo that voice inside me saying “write”; repeating the prod in every correspondence. More importantly, he encourages me to write routinely. So, I’ll dedicate today’s writing to my dad, and promise to update this site on a routine basis.

Searching and re-searching for a purpose

My tag line reads “It’s about Tim”, my attempt at a clever play on words. I would say to myself, “it’s about time you got around to writing” and would find that I tended to write about myself, thus – oh you’re smart enough to get it, I don’t need to explain.

To me writing can too easily be a form of narcissism – of looking at what I write liking staring into a mirror, amused or engaged in some fashion by what I see. I look back through old journals and I see a lot of self-centered writing and really don’t want this site to be that. I don’t want it to be just “about Tim.” Besides, I’ve got a Facebook page for that now. So, I will be playing around as I write, asking myself and anyone reading where I might go with this site. Maybe I will keep some of the autobiographical stuff here, but do a better job along the lines of Elden Nelson, Merlin Mann and Kevin Kelly at writing well enough about other topics that people would actually want to read about me.

In defense of Facebook

I mentioned Facebook earlier. Part of the volunteer work I do for MOUSE is to help them understand Facebook as marketing tool and hopefully a source for micro-donations, so I pay close attention to it. Many see social networking sites as a toy or a distraction. My friend Kevin recently asked me what the fuss was all about. He now has a Facebook account where he does his part to contribute to the enoumous database of random human thought and irrelevant action. My much-missed, former neighbor, Erica, had this to say about Facebook in a post at her site:

But in the grand scope of things it turns out to be a bunch of random comments, pokes, and pictures of all my buddies partying as if they were still in college rather than a narrative, and as Damien pointed out, this blog has been a log of the last few years and I shouldn’t neglect it especially during this huge new chapter of our lives.

That huge new chapter, by the way, is the recent birth of Damien and Erica’s beautiful daughter, Juliet. It is certainly easy to get sucked in and waste time on Facebook, but I think there is more to it than that. Importantly, Erica points out in her post that she has reconnected with people that she hasn’t heard from in 13 years. I made a number of friends in the navy back when very few people had even heard of email. I’ve posted some names on this site before in hopes that they would find me. Facebook has made it so much easier to find these people and for them to find me. I think connections and communication are the key ingredients to life. I see social networking as an enhancement to the Web – it brings us closer together even if much of the information is random. And I would rather passively view a posted joke to someone’s wall than to recieve multiple forwards of the same joke in my email. I like Facebook for what it is.

When I was in my early 20′s I let go of an important piece of arrogance – the idea that any thought I could have would be original. Instead I became impressed with myself when I found I had similar thoughts to someone I admired or respected. I read Kevin Kelly’s Technium, and am able to understand it occasionally. Kelly’s discussion of what is happening in the world and the Web, echos my own thoughts pretty clearly.

Anyway, I believe there’s a lot of noise out there. I don’t want to add to the noise if I can help it, so I am going to spend a bit more time thinking about how to focus this site. Thank you for reading.

A while back I had the opportunity to interview with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for an Information Systems Manager position. There were roughly 50 applicants for the position. I made it to the final three, and then to the final two. In the end they chose the other person. I’m one of those people that believes things happen for a reason, it helps keep me sane I guess – more importantly, it allows me to stay optimistic. While my job search continues, good things have happened since not getting that job.

Michelle Knapik, Program Director for The Dodge Foundation’s environmental work, was kind enough to introduce me to Lynn Schnarr, Development Director for Mouse.Org with the possibility that Mouse might have a volunteer opportunity for me. Over the past couple of days I have had the pleasure of talking with Lynn and Susan Scwartz, Communications Manager. We’ll be looking at ways to let more people know about Mouse.org, and hopefully collecitng micro-donations through various blogs and social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. I’ll write more about my contribution as it develops. All I see right now are endless possibilities.

Later that day…

This evening I decided to attend a PHP Meetup I spotted on Meetup.com. I’ve got a Spanish speaking group that I attend, and Ashley and I went to a figure drawing one, and now I’ve joined this PHP one – I’m turning into a Meetup junkie. Here’s the cool thing – everyone shows up to these meetings knowing what they subject is, so there’s no ice to break. I am a serious advocate of Meetup and don’t mind using a little bit of space here to endorse them.

Tonight’s PHP meeting was great. I met some sharp folks. I learned about what goes on behind the scenes at BobDylan.com (holy cow it’s built on Drupal). I had the opportunity to teach a couple of guys about WordPress and I learned about some really neat applications (e.g. http://www.jingproject.com/). I felt like I was in my element, except I don’t think you’ll ever catch me playing World of Warcraft. I look forward to the next meeting.

So, this post was a bit random maybe – not exactly well-crafted, but I’m going to start using this as an accountability tool and talk about what I’m doing. Oh, and thanks to Rick’s tip on the very cool WP plugin Zemanta, this post has more links in it than any I’ve ever posted.

After a few delays we got onto the slopes. (Please note if you plan on renting you need to go to the lower lodge; the first one you come to as you come into the park.) I noticed right away that this was a state resort with less capital than Okemo in Vermont. Granted it was also preseason, but everything just seemed toned down, which was great for me. This was my third time ever snowboarding and I did not need to be impressed, or to impress. I just wanted to see if I was making in progress after the clumsy runs at Okemo.

The first run was not great. Tom, an excellent skier, and Eileen, a great snowboarder, came down with me and were very patient, offering tips along the way. After a couple or runs I told them to go get some non-babysitting slope time in and join me later for lunch. I tried a few solo runs and could tell I was getting more confident, still a lot of falling and heel side sliding, but feeling more relaxed. Tom and Eileen came back sooner than I expected, claiming the upper runs were too slick. We took a break for lunch (note: I suggest bringing your own to Belleayre – what we ate was expensive and bad), rested for a bit and the returned to the slopes.

After lunch I made a lot of progress. I began to put turns together – the fun part of snowboarding, and enjoyed the compliments on my progress. With the increased confidence I also stopped worrying so much about what others were doing around me. I definitely wiped out a harder, but less frequently. By the end of the day I was spending a lot more time on the board than on my butt. At one point I asked Tom and Eileen if the slopes were getting icy and faster as the day went on. Eileen answered, “no, you’re getting faster because you’re getting better.” It feels nice to be getting better.

I’ve still got some butt busting falls ahead of me, but I’m good enough at it now to enjoy it and it’s just the beginning of the season! Maybe by the end of winter I will look like I know what I’m doing out there.

Lots of life metaphors were rolling through my head last night after the run, but I can’t seem to put them in words right now. And the one about practice has been stated and heard a biscrillion times.

So, with the respect I have for Merlin, I am going to use his site as he suggests. I’m also going to get back into productive mode and be a lot less consumptive. I’ve really come to recognize how much the computer and Internet has drained precious time from my life. Being a computer worker, I kept telling myself it was OK. Now I realize that like so many I became tool-focused rather than task-focused. It’s time for me to start seeing how much stuff I can do offline. Most news is noise, so with the help of the very effective Leech BLock Firefox extension, I’m limiting the flow of distraction into my life. If something really important happens will someone please call me?

In the meantime, I’m digesting some of the stuff I’ve taken in recently and plan to figure out what I have to offer the world that can be delivered through a blog.

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl’s.

I’ve got several stations, and many bookmarked tunes, in many genres. Take a peak at my profile if you want: http://www.pandora.com/people/ptkimrey.  A psychiatrist reviewing my profile might diagnose me as schizophrenic, but I know now that there are many out there like me. Folks who find themselves jonesin’ for some good old jazz for an afternoon, and later want to hear songs similar to that punk band that got them through the toughest days in high school. I have heard so many new songs, and BOUGHT many that I would have never heard had it not been for Pandora. Listening to Pandora is like sitting down with a friend in high school and having them say, “Oh man, you like Iron & Wine? You’ve got to hear Stew!” And here’s the thing I think the music executives seem to be missing: most folks don’t have that kind of time after college – we don’t have as much time to talk and explore music the way that we did then. I understand the need to make money and the need to have incentives for artists, but I hope something can be done to save Pandora. I’ll pay for a subscription if I have to, and probably still buy tunes because the only thing that comes close is satellite radio, and it really doesn’t come close. Call me socialist, call me a commie, but if there were some way of mixing NPR and Pandora I would be pleased as punch.

I’m pulling for you, Pandora. The Web will be a lesser place without you.

Looking from the outside at an aspiring writer, I would question the presence of Selma Lane’s The Art of Maurice Sendak and Stephen King’s On Writing on the bedside table. What sort of books will come from that kind of mind?

We’re getting fatter. But I must tell you that it feels good to be on the low side of medium rather than the high side for a change.